ME2: Traditions
by taviastrife
Summary: On board the Normandy SR-2, and it being Christmas time, Shepard shares a little of her heart with two close crew members.


Shepard casually strolled through the CIC of the Normandy SR-2, glancing at the holographic display of the ship as she went by toward the bridge. The assault on the Collector base hadn't left them unscathed. There were some repairs they still had to do before they could shove off. Shield generators were only working in half capacity, and the thrusters had been hit with ship debris in the galactic core. The Commander knew she didn't have to worry about the repairs being carried out swiftly and efficiently. Her reliable crew wouldn't fail her.

As she leisurely went down the circular strip to the bridge, she nodded to the few crew members working at the terminals which lined the walls. They dutifully saluted her, and some happily wished her a merry holiday. "Fitting that we defeat the Collectors around this time of year," she commented, finally reaching her destination.

The pilot let out a stifled laugh.

She smirked as she sat down next to him at one of the side stations. "Granted, we are on an ex-Cerberus vessel and currently out in the middle of space," she paused to comfortably lean back in the chair. "Doesn't exactly make it feel like the average holiday, does it?"

"Oh, I don't know, Commander. We could always make port and throw lights all over the outside of the Normandy. Festive and functional for covering up holes," Joker amusingly replied, turning his chair to face her.

She slightly shook her head. "I don't think they'd make it through a relay jump, Joker."

"Hmm…yeah, you may be right," he faked disappointment as he shrugged. "Well, another option would be hanging them up inside."

"A certain Operative considers it as a waste of time, and Jacob thinks it would be good for moral but we should really be focusing on the bigger things," Shepard cockily explained, suppressing the act of rolling her eyes. Of course, she had to acknowledge that the two had valid points in not taking up with festivities. Being caught singing and drinking—literally, being caught with the ship's pants down—by the Reapers wasn't in her game plan either. She looked down the corridor with a sigh, "The crew would get a kick out of it, though."

"Yeah, but have to give things up for the greater cause sometimes, huh, Commander?"

They sat in silence for a few moments, absorbing the vastness and calmness of the space surrounding their ship. They listened to the rustling of papers and light chatter from the other crewmates. Conversations of possible next missions and of families back home made Shepard speak.

"Before joining the Alliance, Joker, what did your family do for the holiday?"

She saw the man scoff a little as he turned back to his pilot controls. "You don't usually find Christmas cheer while you're jacked to hospital machines. Tubes sticking in and out of you sort of have a sobering effect, if you know what I mean."

Shepard blinked a few times. She wasn't going to apologize for her question, because she knew him well enough to know he wouldn't appreciate a type of pity. Years ago while trailing Saren Joker had made it clear that he wasn't bitter about his condition. Frustrated, maybe; but, never bitter. He could hold his top-notch piloting skills over anybody in the Systems Alliance. "Come on, Joker," she finally continued. "You never were with your family? Never had a normal Christmas?"

"I wouldn't call it normal, but…" he cocked his head, "my folks had a habit of getting everyone together in my room. We'd exchange gifts, sing a bunch of carols—that sort of thing." He paused but was quick to add, "You know, when I look back on it, it was some pretty mushy stuff."

She crossed her legs as a smirk came to her face once more. "Uh-huh."

Joker glanced at her. "What about you, Commander? What did your fam' ordinarily do?"

"When I was younger, my parents would sit down to a huge dinner. The years we could afford it, that is," she stopped to carelessly chuckle. "Our colony would supply everyone with 'traditional' synthetic trees. They weren't a joy to try and decorate, but they helped in getting families away from work on the colony for a short time at least. No matter what we'd always celebrate…" she concentrated her emerald eyes to her hand where her index finger was lightly tapping on the metal armrest. "But, once everything is slaughtered around you, you sort of fall out of festive traditions…" she muttered.

She could perceive from the corner of her vision that Joker was shifting in his seat. He mumbled something about stupid questions and pressed a few buttons on the panel in front of him. Shepard closed her eyes and shook her head. Standing up from her chair, she said, "It's alright, Joker." It was wrong of her to put him on the spot. Before beginning her short walk to the elevator, she gently patted the man's shoulder.

"I'll be up in my quarters."

Sitting at her desk, she studied the transcript of the conversation between her and the Illusive Man. He hadn't appreciated her upstanding decision concerning the Collector base, and her little speech hadn't helped his disposition any. Handing over such a powerful weapon to Cerberus had never been her goal, and she had made it clear to TIM from the onset. Letting out a sigh and shaking her head, Shepard reclined in her desk chair as she tossed the datapad to the side. To finally have ties severed with that organization was the best damn thing that had happened so far in her second life.

The sudden noise of her cabin's door mechanisms releasing caused her to spin her chair about. The Commander smiled and greeted, "Hey, Garrus. Is there something you want to talk about?"

The Turian shifted his weight from one leg to the other as he glanced back at the door he'd just entered. "Well, I just wanted to say that I've… hm…" his voice trailed off as he obviously struggled with words. "Is anything wrong, Shepard? I mean, you seem to be keeping to yourself a lot lately."

She silently stared at him for a moment in thought. Maybe he was the best damn thing. "Sorry Garrus. I guess I didn't realize how melancholic I act around this time of the year."

"Humans regularly celebrate a holiday around this time, right? 'Chris-t-mas' or something?" he asked.

"Christmas," she corrected, pushing herself up out of her chair. Crossing her arms about her chest, she leaned against her desk's end. "On Earth, it's a pretty special time."

"Turians don't have any holidays. Well, not any that we follow religiously or anything. Unless you were to count the Anniversary of the Unification War." Seeing Shepard's look of curiosity, Garrus continued, "When Turians first joined the Citadel council and became part of the political hierarchy the outer colonies around the homeworld became hostile. They distanced themselves from the new systems. Eventually things became so disjointed that the Hierarchy had to intervene in the end. Grudges held even after everything was resolved, but it's died down after so long. We hold an annual ceremony to remind everyone what happens without some semblance of order."

"Hmm, that's cheery," Shepard sarcastically remarked.

"Yeah," he agreed with a nod. "I managed to do some research about this Christmas; it's nothing like the Anniversary. Your tradition is giving…gifts?"

Her brow raised in amusement. "It's not exactly a necessity, but it goes along with family gatherings most of the time." She watched as the alien looked to the floor in deep thought. Her eyes suddenly caught the motion of his hands fiddling with something. She couldn't make out what it was from where she stood.

"Look, uh…Shepard, I'm not sure it will mean much to you, but…I wanted to give this to you," he slowly said, extending his armored talons out to her. She gingerly took the metallic necklace from his grip to examine it closely. Attached to the chain was a triangular medallion with Garrus' basic information of his rank, height, and other such things on the front of it. The Citadel Security Services insignia was engraved on the back.

"Your dogtags?" she asked incredulously, gazing up at him.

"I know it isn't much. I-I didn't have an opportunity to actually get you anything special…" he refused to look her directly in the eyes. She intently stared up at him, noting how frustrated he appeared as he spoke. Considering how often he expressed his dislike for the work he once had done for C-Sec, she wondered why he had kept his old dogtags for so long and for what reason. Maybe it had been for sentimentalities' sake? His time there might have meant more to him than he wanted to admit. "You don't have to keep it if you…" Garrus was halted by Shepard taking hold of the jutting neckline of his armor.

Closing her eyes, the woman pulled him down to her height and placed her lips against the side of his face in a tender kiss. She could feel his stiffness gradually lighten as he slipped his arms about her waist. They contentedly remained there for some time with the rumbling of the Normandy surrounding them. Slightly pulling away to look into her companion's eyes, she smiled and softly said, "Your sweet, Garrus." And she genuinely meant it.

"Y-you know me, Enora," he flippantly fumbled, pushing his head up against hers.

"Yeah… I do." Always there when she needed him most.

**Author's Notes**_**:**_

_Yeah, this is Christmas fluff. But it was fun-to-write Christmas fluff, so who cares!_

_I hope I did all the characters justice in this, especially Joker. For some reason, he's really hard for me to write, so I usually shy away from writing anything with him in it. But, I decided to challenge myself and make this piece happen. I figured with anything about Earth traditions, holidays, and that sort of thing my Shepard would talk with Joker more than anyone else. Miranda would be uptight about it, Jacob would be a bore, and the aliens on board wouldn't really know much about the Christmas holiday._

_I pray that you enjoy, and thank you for reading._

_And, I apologize for any spelling or grammar errors beforehand._


End file.
